Check out the current card for UFC 161, which takes place in Winnipeg, MB on June 15th.

The UFC returns to Canada on June 15th, but they’re headed somewhere they’ve never held an event before – Winnipeg, Manitoba. The MTS Centre will play host to a UFC interim bantamweight title fight as the main event, with Renan Barao looking to defend against the first WEC bantamweight champion, Eddie Wineland. The card will also feature two big light heavyweight bouts – Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will compete in a rematch of their epic 2005 Pride bout, while former champ Rashad Evans will meet veteran Dan Henderson.

Two fight announcements slipped under the radar over the weekend, as Trevor Smith is set to face Ed Herman at UFC on Fox 8, and Kazuki Tokudome is fighting Norman Parke at UFC 162.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of the UFC 159 buildup, two fight announcements got left out in the cold. UFC officials announced Friday that Ed Herman would be facing Trevor Smith at UFC on Fox 8. Also announced, Norman Parke and Kazuki Tokudome for UFC 162.

Herman returns after a one-off fight under the Strikeforce banner where he lost to Ronaldo Souza by first round kimura. His last fight in the UFC saw him drop a unanimous decision to Jake Shields, which was later overturned after Shields failed his post fight drug test.

Trevor Smith has been a staple on the Strikeforce Challengers series, but was most recently seen on the undercard of Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine, losing by third round submission to Tim Kennedy. Smith is the latest of the Strikeforce transfers, and to be honest it’s a bit surprising that he made the jump. He brings with him a 10–3 record with losses to Gian Villante and Devin Cole.

This has all the makings of a win or get cut fight for both men. Herman has had a long tenure with the company, but he’s had back to back poor performances, and while I’m sure the UFC feels grateful to him for stepping up and taking the fight with “Jacare,” I doubt that generosity would last through a third loss.

Ultimate Fighter winner Norman Parke (17–2) will make his return to the octagon for the first time since his victory on the TUF Smashes finale (UFC on FX 6: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson) over Colin Fletcher. Unfortunately for Parke, much of the wind has been taken out of his TUF sails, as Fletcher has already been released from the promotion following his second loss.

Kazuki Tokudome was a somewhat surprising acquisition by the UFC from Pancrase. He’s 12–3–1 which means he’s avoided much of the draw heavy decisions endemic to Japanese MMA. His only recent loss is to young Pancrase champion Isao Kobayashi. He won a well earned unanimous decision over Cristiano Marcello at UFC on Fuel TV 8: Silva vs. Stann, and looks to have some promise if he can work on his striking defense.

All told this is probably a better build-up fight for Parke than it is for Tokudome, but its a good opportunity for both fighters to start separating themselves from the bottom end of the Lightweight division.

Jake Shields (25-4-1) confirmed his inevitable signing with the UFC via Twitter, as well as his first opponent with the promotion, Martin Kampmann.

The former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion has come to terms with the UFC after getting his release from his contract with the San Jose-based mixed martial arts promotion he’s called home since the collapse of Elite XC nearly two years ago.

During his recent negotiations, Shields flirted with the UFC and spoke publicly about his desire to fight Octagon champions Georges St. Pierre (welterweight) and Anderson Silva (middleweight).

He also served as assistant coach to Chuck Liddell on Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).

While he competed in the 185-pound class in Strikeforce, Shields is a natural 170-pound competitor and has the flexibility to move between weight classes depending on what opportunities present themselves.

For now, he’ll concentrate on his longtime goal of facing St. Pierre should “Rush” defeat Josh Koscheck (again) later this year with his first step in that direction coming in the form of a top-flight welterweight scrap with Martin Kampmann.

Kampmann has done some recent damage himself, welcoming another high profile welterweight to the Octagon when former WEC stud Carlos Condit debuted at UFC Fight Night 19 back in April 2009.

“The Hitman” emptied his clip into Jacob Volkmann when “Christmas” rang in the New Year for the injured Rory Markham at the UFC 108: “Evans vs. Silva” event earlier this year.

It was a much needed win for the Dane, who saw his title aspirations evaporate at the hands of Paul “Semtex” Daley back at UFC 103: “Franklin vs. Belfort” in September 2009.

In addition to the win over “Natural Born Killer,” Kampmann is 13-2 since 2004 and like Shields, has also done time as a middleweight.

He is of course coming off a dominant win over the man that many pegged as a future welterweight title challenger, Paulo Thiago, at UFC 115 last month. A win over the surging Shields would likely vault Martin back to the top of the 170-pound division.

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With Jake Shields UFC debut practically a foregone conclusion, the wheels are in motion to find him a suitable opponent for his return to the 170-pound division.

Not as easy as it sounds.

A quick run through the SB Nation top ten rankings will yield plenty of suitors; however, everyone with a spot high enough on the totem pole to welcome the former Strikeforce and Elite XC champion has already secured a date to the big dance.

That leaves Martin Kampmann and Paulo Thiago — and the Dane already disposed of the crafty Brazilian at UFC 115 just last month, effectively securing his position as the last man standing.

And a win over Shields would likely ease some of the pain he felt when his desired opponent, Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy, was paired up with Carlos Condit for the upcoming UFC 120 event across the pond.

MMA Fighting is reporting that “sources close to the situation” have pegged “The Hitman” as Shields first opponent and that UFC 121 in Anaheim is “a likely possibility.”

The Cesar Gracie product has remained undefeated over five years across the span of 14 fights. Some of his most recent victims include Dan Henderson, Robbie Lawler and Jason Miller.

Kampmann has done some damage himself, welcoming another high profile welterweight to the Octagon when former WEC stud Carlos Condit debuted at UFC Fight Night 19 back in April 2009.

In addition to the win over “Natural Born Killer,” Kampmann is 13-2 since 2004 and like Shields, has also done time as a middleweight.

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Former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields (25-4-1) has sealed the deal with the UFC after getting his release from his contract with the San Jose-based mixed martial arts promotion he’s called home since the collapse of Elite XC nearly two years ago.

Shields will return to the welterweight division against a “top contender” in his Octagon debut, according to the official Gracie Fighter website:

“Jake Shields will be debuting at the 170lbs weight division in the UFC. After careful consideration and consulting with UFC representatives it was determined Jake would be finally going back to his original fighting weight. [His] opponent is one of the UFC’s top contenders and will be announced shortly.”

After a successful title run under the Pro Elite banner from 2007-08, Shields was picked from the rubble by Scott Coker and Co. following the financial implosion of Elite XC, expedited by Kimbogate on the “Heat” fight card in October 2008.

The Cesar Gracie disciple made his Strikeforce debut against Robbie Lawler in June 2009, strangling the former UFC brawler with a “Ruthless” guillotine just past the two minute mark in the first round of their main event attraction.

Back-to-back decision wins over Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Dan Henderson on CBS would follow, leaving Shields with an option to stay for one more fight or head for greener pastures, depending on the promotion’s ability to meet his salary requirements for one last ride.

During his recent negotiations, Shields flirted with the UFC and spoke publicly about his desire to fight Octagon champions Georges St. Pierre (welterweight) and Anderson Silva (middleweight).

He also served as assistant coach to Chuck Liddell on Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).

While he competed in the 185-pound class in Strikeforce, Shields is a natural 170-pound competitor and has the flexibility to move between weight classes depending on what opportunities present themselves. For now, he’ll concentrate on his longtime goal of facing St. Pierre should “Rush” defeat Josh Koscheck (again) later this year.

In the interim, Shields will be paired up with a “top contender” shortly. Any guesses as to who it might be? Seems like the only available welterweight at this time is the always-dangerous Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann.

Anyone have a better match-up? Let’s hear your predictions Maniacs.

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Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields has been released from his contract with Strikeforce, the San Jose-based mixed martial arts promotion he’s called home since the collapse of Elite XC nearly two years ago, according to a report from Sherdog.com.

After a successful title run under the Pro Elite banner from 2007-08, Shields was picked from the rubble by Scott Coker and Co. following the financial implosion of Elite XC, expedited by Kimbogate on the “Heat” fight card in October 2008.

The Cesar Gracie disciple made his Strikeforce debut against Robbie Lawler in June 2009, strangling the former UFC brawler with a “Ruthless” guillotine just past the two minute mark in the first round of their main event attraction.

Back-to-back decision wins over Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Dan Henderson on CBS would follow, leaving Shields with an option to stay for one more fight or head for greener pastures, depending on the promotion’s ability to meet his salary requirements for one last ride.

During his recent negotiations, Shields flirted with the UFC and spoke publicly about his desire to fight Octagon champions Georges “Rush” St. Pierre (welterweight) and Anderson “The Spider” Silva (middleweight).

He also served as assistant coach to Chuck Liddell on season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).

While he competed in the 185-pound class in Strikeforce, Shields is a natural 170-pound competitor and has the flexibility to move between weight classes depending on what opportunities present themselves.

Of course his debut as a Zuffa employee is not yet confirmed, but widely accepted as a foregone conclusion in light of his release from Strikeforce. UFC President Dana White has gone on the record stating he’ll “definitely” sign the grappling stud on multiple occasions.

In his absence, Strikeforce will likely proceed with a 185-pound tournament to determine a new champion.

So, now that the wheels are in motion, what match-ups intrigue you the most? Does Shields automatically get a crack at the winner of Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck? Or does he need to prove his merit against the winner of Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves?

“Jake Shields is definitely going to leave Strikeforce, and he’s definitely coming to the UFC. First of all, they put all of their eggs in the Dan Henderson basket. They went out and acquired him and thought he was worth a lot more money than we were willing to pay him. They went out and paid him more money than they can afford to. They never respected Jake Shields, who is their champion. They didn’t even have him in their commercials for the fight. Then the fight happens and Jake Shields wins. They were like, ‘Oh my God. He won. What do we do?’ I think they sent (Miller) in there to challenge him, so that if Jake leaves, it looks like he doesn’t want to fight Miller. That‘s not the way you do it. You let the winner speak, then you ask him at the end about whether he‘s willing to fight Miller. But that’s them. They’re a Podunk, unknown, small-time organization. There shouldn‘t have been that many guys in the cage in the first place!”

UFC President Dana White is definitely using the word “definitely” again, this time in predicting the definite future home of Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields. The grappling wizard gave UFC import Dan Henderson a rude awakening at last Saturday’s “Nashville” event to retain his title and dramatically increase his market value. The San Jose-based fight promotion is running out of time to exercise their remaining fight option and could be looking at a hefty price tag to re-sign him and keep him out of the UFC. Definitely.

“I’m a fighter who takes it one opponent at a time and my next fight is in Strikeforce against (Dan) Henderson. When you talk about guys like Anderson Silva and St.-Pierre, the best in the world, obviously I fight want to fight them. I want to be the best in the world and to be the best you have to beat the best. GSP’s a complete fighter standing and on the ground. But that’s why I want to fight him, that’s the challenge. I want to test my skills and see what happens. Now I’m focused on Dan Henderson for this fight and after that my contract with Strikeforce ends. I’ll talk with Strikeforce and the UFC to find out which one I will work for.”

Current Strikeforce middleweight champion and undeafeted since 2004, Jake Shields comes off thirteen victories in a row and now has the hardest match of his career versus Dan Henderson on April 17. Shields has been training jiu-jitsu with friends Nick and Nate Diaz and experienced a six-week camp with Robert Drysdale in Las Vegas recently where also had the opportunity of helping Chuck Liddell as BJJ coach for the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter. Jake is going to do the last fight of the current contract and after that will talk to both Strikeforce and UFC to decide what organization he will fight for. Is Shields a good name for UFC? Do you think he is able to beat Silva or St-Pierre –or won’t even get past Henderson?